ROCKINGHAM — Habitat for Humanity of the NC Sandhills is gearing up for another build in Richmond County, with the future homeowner being single-parent veteran with two kids.
A group of about 16 committee members met at Hudson Brothers Deli Tuesday to plan fundraising efforts, volunteer recruitment and the building schedule.
Marine veteran Fati Brown, who is raising two daughters, will purchase the home — with mortgage payments averaging around $400 per month — and have to participate in homebuyer education workshops and put in 300 hours of “sweat equity,” or hours of work.
Habitat Executive Director Amie Fraley said the site for this year’s build will be on Greenlake Road — next to a home the organization built for Nankeen Burch.
Each home, Fraley added, takes about 2,000 volunteer hours to complete.
And it’s volunteers the organization is looking for.
Construction is scheduled to begin Sept. 11, with “Walls-Up Day” coinciding with the United Way Day of Caring.
Fraley said the key dates for volunteer groups will be Sept. 11-14, 20-21 and 27-28, with the construction of the frame, walls, deck floor, porch and trusses and instillation of the windows, doors and insulation.
A group of RVers is scheduled to work on the plumbing, heating and air conditioning, wiring and putting up siding in October.
Smaller volunteer groups will be needed in November and December for painting, flooring and installing cabinets and countertops.
Construction volunteers must be at least 16-years-old.
Habitat is also planning another womanless pageant this year. A tentative date has been set but may change due to conflicts with other local events.
ReStore Manager Amy Guinn said there are also plenty of volunteer opportunities there. All the money raised at the store, located in the Lowe’s shopping center, goes toward projects in Richmond County.
In addition to building houses, Habitat has also partnered with Richmond Community College to provide training for a repair program in Dobbins Heights, Fraley said.
Habitat has builty 14 homes in Richmond County since 2005. The most recent was last year’s “Women’s Build” in Hamlet, which was dedicated to the Pittman family in January.
“We would love to get to the point where we can do a spring build and a fall build,” Fraley said.
To volunteer, contact Rosemary Weber at 910-295-1934 ext. 2270 or visit sandhillshabitat.org for more information.
